


Journey's End

by yourmothersmeatloaf



Series: ATLA Royed [1]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Established Relationship, Healthy Relationships, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-16
Updated: 2020-10-18
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:14:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,037
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27047776
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yourmothersmeatloaf/pseuds/yourmothersmeatloaf
Summary: I have literally just written Royed into ATLA, that's all it is
Relationships: Edward Elric/Roy Mustang
Series: ATLA Royed [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1974121
Comments: 5
Kudos: 27





	1. The Western Air Temple

Zuko paced back and forth, anxiously chewing on his fingernails. He was still hidden in the forest near the Western Air Temple. It was just him and the sounds of nature. In his head he kept running plausible lines to present to the Avatar and his friends. He’d long since abandoned practicing on the badger frog. He wasn’t a very generous scene partner anyway, who even needed him?

He didn’t know what he could say to the Avatar that wouldn’t sound like lies. He needed to figure something out and soon. He didn’t know when they’d be moving on from the temple, and every moment he spent stewing was a moment of training lost.

“‘Hi, Zuko here, I am just approaching you to inform you of my new found goodness!’ God, I sound like such a loser. ‘Hi, you may know me as Zuko from all the trying to capture you all! But boy do I have good news for you!’. Ugh, god, am I a bad salesman or something?”

He looked into a nearby puddle and adjusted himself, hiding his scar from view. He told himself that he was just a bad salesman and could never convince the Avatar and his friends to accept him into their tight-knit group.

He only had one thing going for him, and that was he was the only person who could plausibly teach him firebending. Which he needed to know. And that was a fact. The only other person who laid outside the bounds of the Fire Nation and they knew was a master was Jeong Jeong and he’d gone missing. The only one who was alive, anyway.

He kept down a shudder and attempted to prepare himself some more before attempting his pitch. If he could’ve even brought himself to do it.

After some more dicking around, he followed the sound of friendly shouting until he reached the general whereabouts of the group. He felt his heartbeat in his throat, a feeling he was not unfamiliar with. As he descended the rope he’d placed earlier on he savored the feeling of the wind caressing his skin. His skin was always too warm, and his anxiety only made it worse. The cool breeze was likely the last bit of comfort he would feel for a while.

He tried to keep as silent as possible when his feet hit the ground. He didn’t know if that was the best move, but decided it could be worse. He’d never really done it before. He burned down all of his bridges in a final way. He had to carry through. No matter what.

He began walking closer, where he recognized the voices of the Avatar and Katara. He stood behind an enormous pile of rubble and took a few deep breaths. He needed to calm down. What was the worst that could happen? They could kill him. Or he’ll end up wandering the world, an officially lifelong banned prince with an unprepared Avatar who wouldn’t be able to beat his father. Then the world would descend into chaos and nothing would be resolved and- okay. It wasn’t the time to think that way. Optimism. He needed the best-case scenario, so that was what he needed to think about.

His ears pricked as the voices seemed to get closer.

“I think that’ll have to wait,” he heard.

He approached, quickly realizing they already discovered him. Uh oh. What could he do?

He lifted his hand and offered a strained smile, “Hello. Zuko here.”

Immediately they lowered into defensive positions, apparently prepared to teach him a lesson akin to his father did, only in their own bending styles.

“Hey, I heard you guys flying around down there, so I just thought I’d wait for you here,” he attempted. Appa growled at him, earning a startle from Zuko. His nerves settled as Appa just licked him a couple times. Zuko wasn’t much of a stranger to that, either. “I know you must be surprised to see me here.”

“Not really, since you’ve followed us all over the world.”

“Right. Well, anyway... what I wanted to tell you about is that I’ve changed, and I, um, I’m good now, and well, I think I should join your group. Oh, and I can teach firebending to you! See, I, um…” Zuko scratched the back of his neck.

The group collectively shared the same expression of shock. He could sense none of them believed him, but he couldn’t fault them for that. His skin’s temperature kept spiking upwards, reaching an uncomfortable level.

“You want to what, now?” The earthbending girl asked.

“You can’t possibly think that any of us would trust you, can you? I mean, how stupid do you think we are?” Katara shouted.

“Yeah, all you’ve ever done is hunt us down and try to capture Aang!” Sokka said.

He knew it was going to fail. Why did he even try it? He should’ve thought about their reaction before he left the Fire Nation. It all played out so much better in his head. He needed to fix it.

“I’ve done some good things! I mean, I could have stolen your bison in Ba Sing Se, but I set him free! That’s something!” Zuko said.

Appa licked him once again, coating him in thick saliva. While Zuko was glad that was likely boding well for him, it was so gross. He tried wiping it off of himself, but it just kept smearing. He gave up once the earthbender started speaking again.

“Appa does seem to like him.”

“He probably covered himself in honey or something so Appa would lick him. I’m not buying it,” the water tribe boy retorted.

“I can understand why you wouldn’t trust me, and I know I’ve made some mistakes in the past,” Zuko said.

“Like when you attacked our village?” the water tribe boy asked.

“Or when you stole my mother’s necklace and used it to track us down and capture us?” Katara asked.

“Look, I admit I’ve done some awful things,” Zuko said. “I was wrong to try to capture you, and I’m sorry that I attacked the Water Tribe. And I never should have sent that Fire Nation assassin after you. I’m going to try and stop-”

The water tribe boy’s eyes widened, and he angrily pulled out his boomerang. He pointed it at Zuko, whose mind reeled. Had they not known? Of course not.

“Wait, you send Combustion Man after us?” He shouted.

“Well, that’s not his name, but-”

“Ohh, sorry. I didn’t mean to insult your friend!” He cut Zuko off.

“He’s not my friend!” Zuko shouted.

“That guy locked me and Katara and jail and tried to blow us all up!” The earthbender yelled.

“What’s going on?” A commanding voice shouted from behind him.

Zuko turned to see two new people he did not recognize. One was taller with black hair and the one tailing behind him was short and blond. One thing he recognized was that they were not on his side, either.

They seemed to take into account the defensive stances of the group and followed suit. He saw the blond take a stance of what seemed to be earthbending while the tall man seemed to be...a firebender? No way.

“Do you know him? Is he an enemy?” The blond asked.

“He’s not a friend,” the water tribe boy answered.

Zuko sighed and turned to address to the Avatar, “Why aren’t you saying anything? You once said we could be friends. You know I have good in me.”

The Avatar fully lowered his staff, and his friends followed suit, though not entirely dropping their stances. The water tribe boy shook his head at him. The Avatar sighed and stood strongly.

Zuko felt his heart drop. For a moment there he really believed the tide was about to turn, but that body language was less than promising.

“There’s no way we can trust you after everything you’ve done. We’ll never let you join us.”

Zuko felt the panic flood his body entirely. How could he not see that Zuko was doing everything he could? How could he not see that he changed? How could he not see that he was his only chance at learning firebending?

“You need to get out of here,” Katara said. “Now.”

“I’m trying to explain that I’m not that person anymore!” Zuko said.

“Either you leave, or we attack,” Sokka’s voice was grave.

“You heard them,” the potential firebender said.

“If you won’t accept me as a friend, then maybe you’ll take me as a prisoner,” Zuko said.

He knelt and bowed his head. He raised his hands in surrender. He felt like a cornered fool. Which he was, but it still felt bad. He recognized, though, that was where he belonged.

“No, we won’t!” Katara yelled, bending water at him. “Get out of here and don’t come back! And if we ever see you again… Well, we’d better not see you again!”

Zuko looked around at all the people surrounding him. There was a general acceptance of Zuko’s banishment from their family as well. At least they didn’t attack. Yet, anyway. He decided it was the best choice to regroup for the time being before he can decide how to move forward.

“Fine,” Zuko huffed and turned to walk away. Unfortunately, that meant pushing through the two new members of their group, who never dropped their threatening positions the entire time.

-

Later that evening, when they were sure Zuko had gone, the gang regrouped. The sun was setting over the temple, making it even more beautiful than Aang thought possible. He felt a strange feeling of home, but also of displacement. It wasn’t home without his people.

“Why would he try to fool us like that?” Katara asked.

“Obviously he wants to lead us into some kind of trap,” Sokka said.

“This is just like when we were in prison together at Ba Sing Se. He starts talking about his mother and making it seem like he’s an actual human being with feelings,” Katara crossed her arms.

Aang felt a prickle in his neck. He didn’t like what he walked into there. He wouldn’t call it jealousy, though. Not out loud, anyway.

“He wants you to trust and feel sorry for him so you let your guard down, then he strikes,” Sokka pounded his fist in his hand.

“The thing is…” Katara said, “It worked. I did feel sorry for him. I felt like he was really confused and hurt, but obviously, when the time came, he made his choice, and we paid the price. We can’t trust him.”

They all stood around, near the cliff side of the temple, all using varying degrees of closed off body language.

“I kind of have a confession to make,” Aang said, looking away. “Remember when you two were sick, and I got captured by Zhao?”

“And you made us sick on frozen frogs? How could I forget? I had a wart on the flap that hangs down from the back of my throat for a month!”

“Sokka, I looked at it, and I told you, there was nothing there!” Katara said.

“I could feel it! It’s my throatal flap!” Sokka crossed his arms and turned away from his sister.

Toph and Roy shared a look. Siblings, they’d never understand.

“Anyway,” Aang continued, “When Zhao had me chained up, it was Zuko who came in and got me out. He risked his life to save me.”

“No way! I’m sure he only did it so he could capture you himself!” Katara said.

“Yeah, face it, Aang. You’re nothing but a big prize to him,” Sokka said.

“And not in a good way,” Edward said.

“There is no good way to be a prize to someone,” Roy countered.

“Speak for yourself,” Edward and Toph said in unison.

Aang watched them all wearily, “You’re probably right.”

“And what was all that crazy stuff about setting Appa free? What a liar!” Katara scoffed.

“Actually, he wasn’t lying,” Toph said.

“Oh, hooray! In a lifetime of evil, at least he didn’t add animal cruelty to the list,” Sokka said.

“I’m just saying that, considering his messed up family and how he was raised, he could have turned out a lot worse,” Toph said.

“You’re right, Toph! Let’s go find him and give him a medal. The ‘Not as Much of a Jerk as You Could Have Been’ award!” Katara jested.

“All I know is that while he was talking to us, he was sincere. Maybe you’re all letting your hurt feelings keep you from thinking clearly,” Toph said.

“Easy for you to say! You weren’t there when he had us attacked by pirates!” Katara said.

“Or when he burned down Kyoshi Island!” Sokka added.

“Or when he tried to capture me at the Fire Temple,” Aang said.

Edward shot a confused look at Roy, who just shrugged.

“Why would you even try to defend him?” Katara demanded.

“Not to interrupt but, who even is this guy?” Edward asked from where he sat with Momo. “Like, I understand he’s the prince and all that but, who is he?”

“From context, I’m picking up that he is a personal stalker of the Avatar likely sent by his father,” Roy said.

“Oh, he’s more than a stalker! He is an absolute monster! He followed us everywhere from the day we met Aang! He has been a massive thorn in our side, sent out by the Fire Nation to kill Aang. And he has come close a few times to say the least,” Katara said.

“And he’s relentless. Everything we do we could walk into a potential trap he set to get Aang. He’s burned down entire villages, too. And now we learn he sent Combustion Man after us. Relentless,” Sokka said.

“Yeah, the good to bad ratio is very sorry,” Aang said.

Roy hummed pensively and crossed his arms. He stared out over the cliff and into the large drop below.

“All that being said, it feels like maybe we should have been informed about this guy sooner,” Roy said.

“Yeah, sounds like you have a lot of history with him,” Edward said.

“To be honest, I didn’t know about him for a while, too,” Toph said. “Maybe you guys should include him during orientation.”

The three of them shared a laugh, while the rest remained troubled.

“We didn’t have to worry about Zuko while the Fire Nation all thought Aang was dead, but now he’s back,” Sokka said, continuing to pace.

“I’m still stuck on why Toph wants to defend Your Holy Evilness,” Katara said.

Toph rounded on Katara, throwing her arms down at her side.

“Because Katara, I’m not sure if you remember, but Aang has a very important date coming up. And he still isn’t good at firebending. No offense, Aang. The time is short and two teachers are better than one!” Toph said.

“That is not a good answer, Toph!” Katara shouted. She met Toph’s defensive posture with her own, meeting her in the middle.

“Think about it! After these two joined our group and Ed and I started teaming up on Aang, how much quicker did he learn? He benefited from having two teachers, so I don’t see how this isn’t a golden opportunity!” Toph shouted back.

“That is true,” Sokka reluctantly agreed.

They all looked at Sokka, then slowly to Aang. He’d turned his back to the group, something they knew him to do when he was overwhelmed.

“I’m not having Zuko as my teacher!” Aang shouted.

“Of course you’re not!” Katara said.

“Well, I guess that settles that,” Roy muttered.

Toph stared between Aang and Katara, then threw her hands in the air.

“Ugh! I’m beginning to wonder who’s really the blind one around here!” Toph yelled.

She turned and stormed away from them. Katara uncrossed her arms and walked up to Aang, placing her hand on his shoulder.

“Are you alright?”

“Of course I am,” Aang said.

Silence settled over them. Edward looked between everyone, noticing no one was in the same mood. He’d only been with the gang for a short while, but quickly got a hold of reading them all. It wasn’t exactly like they kept things beneath the surface. That being said, he’d never seen them all so divided on a decision.

“Well, if anyone cares what I have to say, I agree with Toph,” Edward said while standing. “I know we don’t know this Zuko guy, but maybe that’s good. We’re looking in from the outside, mostly. And Aang really benefited from two teachers. You know, the whole good guy, bad guy dynamic.”

“Which one of you is the good guy?” Sokka asked, slightly concerned by hearing that. “Are you sure you’re okay, Aang?”

“Ha ha,” Edward said flatly. “But seriously. I know I probably haven’t earned the place to speak on it yet, but I think it’d be silly not to give it a shot. Even though Roy is probably happy not to give up any of his authority.”

Edward elbowed Roy, expecting a laugh. Roy just looked down at him and shook his head.

“No, this Zuko character is sketchy. It would not be wise to let him into our operation. What caused him to switch sides so suddenly? It is not in the best interest of the world,” Roy said.

“What? You too, now? Obviously it has risks! But it’s just as obvious that we would overpower him too easily! It basically makes the risk an afterthought,” Edward said.

“That is true,” Roy said.

“It is not worth the risk,” Aang said.

Aang started walking away, then Katara followed. Edward turned to Roy, who shook his head disapprovingly. Edward shrugged, accepting it was their own decision.

Roy turned back toward the cliff, watching the golden sun settle over the surrounding stone. He felt the warmth of the sun settle into his skin, making him feel very connected to himself. He then saw Edward walk beside him from his peripheral.

The sun made Edward look like home. It was the perfect meeting of gold and light. The aurelian rays hit Edward’s frame, making the silhouette of his hair white and his skin deep. Roy reached around his shoulders and pulled him into his side. Edward rested his head against him.

“They’ll make the right decision, whatever they choose,” Roy assured.

“I know,” Edward said. “I hope Toph doesn’t do anything crazy wherever she is.”

“Speaking of,” Roy said, looking at him, “Good guy, bad guy thing? Exactly which one of you is the good guy?”

“Hey, screw you,” Edward laughed. “Obviously me. You’ve never sparred with her and it shows.”

“I’m thinking I wouldn’t want to,” Roy said.

“Only if you want to lose.”

Roy let out a long exhale and pulled Edward back into him as they watched the sun’s slow descent into the landscape. He felt incredibly lucky to be free of the Fire Nation, and even more so to be standing in an Air Temple. As an ally and nothing less than a friend. Not too many could say that.

-

The next morning, Roy helped serve breakfast. It wasn’t much, but it was what they had. He was just thankful they had food at all. Going a while with little would do that to you.

As Roy was about to wake Edward, Katara asked if anyone had seen Toph.

“I haven’t seen her since she stormed off yesterday,” Sokka said.

“Maybe she’s just exploring the air temple. There are some pretty fun spots to practice earthbending,” Haru suggested.

“I think we should go look for her,” Katara seemed dubious.

Sokka slumped down around the fire, “Eh, let her have fun with her rocks. I’m in no rush to have her yelling at us again.”

“We can go check for her!” Teo said.

Haru, The Duke and Teo share some enthusiastic ideas of how to spend their time when they found Toph and then were off. Then, the familiar, colossal noise of shifting earth drew their attention to a nearby wall. A bunch of stone fell over, then Toph pulled herself over it.

Katara, Aang and Sokka all ran towards her, pulling her into a sitting position. Roy stayed back so as to not overcrowd them.

“Toph, what happened?” Katara asked.

“My feet got burned!” Toph yelled, pained.

“Oh, no!” Katara exclaimed. “What happened?”

“I just told you! My feet got burned,” Toph scowled.

“I meant how,” Katara said.

Toph then looked sheepish, “Well, I kinda went to go see Zuko last night.”

“You what?” Aang shouted.

Beside Roy, Edward materialized. His bed head was atrocious, and he rubbed his eyes violently.

“What’s with all the shouting?” He mumbled.

“Just listen,” Roy said.

“Zuko?” Katara yelled.

“I thought he could be helpful to us,” Toph said. “And if I talked to him, maybe we could work something out.”

Katara began bending some water over Toph’s feet, healing them. Toph’s face showed it was helping her a good amount.

“So he attacked you?” Sokka asked, but it wasn’t really a question.

“Well, he did, and he didn’t,” Toph said. “It was sort of an accident.”

“But he did firebend at you,” Sokka clarified.

“Yes,” Toph said with a sigh.

“See?” Sokka asked, turning away. “You trusted Zuko and you got burned. Literally!”

“It’s gonna take a while for your feet to get better,” Katara sat back. “I wish I could have worked on them sooner.”

“Yeah, me too,” Toph said.

“Zuko’s clearly too dangerous to be left alone. We’re gonna have to go after him,” Sokka said.

“I hate to go looking for a fight, but you’re right. After what he did to Toph, I don’t think we have a choice,” Aang reluctantly concurred.

“Hell yeah!” Ed said.

Roy sighed and buried his face in his hands. Aang may not have enjoyed looking for fights, but he sure knew someone who did.

“He’s crafty,” Sokka admitted, “But we’ll find a way to capture him.”

“Maybe just invite him back here. He’s already offered himself up as a prisoner once,” Toph said as Sokka and Aang helped her to stand.

“Yeah, get him to come back here and say he’ll be our prisoner, then we’ll jump him and really make him our prisoner! He’ll never suspect it!” Sokka said.

Then he and Aang helped Toph move to a nearby fountain that held trapped rainwater. The rest of them followed closely behind.

“You are a master of surprise, Sokka,” Katara quipped.

Toph put her feet in the water and her expression said everything about the relief that lent. They began strategizing on how to capture Zuko seriously that time. Then, out of nowhere, an explosion occurred directly above them.

They immediately turned into fight-or-flight mode, Aang and Sokka grabbing Toph as they all began running for shelter. They only hid behind the fountain when they heard Zuko.

“Stop! I don’t want you hunting the Avatar anymore! The mission is off! I am ordering you to stop!” Zuko yelled.

Aang looked up in shock and watched as Zuko held his arms out in front of Combustion Man.

“Aw, what is this now?” Edward asked. “I missed breakfast, too. This sucks.”

“That’s Combustion Man,” Sokka explained. “He can blow things up with his mind.”

“That’s impossible!” Roy shouted.

“Well, apparently not,” Aang said.

Combustion Man shoved Zuko aside and attacked them again, with much more accuracy that time. The entire structure encasing the area with the fountain crumbled. Edward moved quickly to ensure none of the falling debris would hit anyone. Roy’s eyes widened. No, apparently it was not impossible. The man made no obvious physical movement to cause an explosion far too close to them for comfort.

“If you keep attacking, I won’t pay you!” Zuko yells. Then, when Combustion Man grabbed him, “All right! I’ll pay you double to stop!”

As Combustion Man fired again, Zuko kicked him hard, thankfully causing the blow to miss. He then turned his attention to the teen, but not quickly enough. Zuko created a wall of fire to block the attack, but the velocity of it sent him flying off of the perch they were on. The man looked satisfied that Zuko was no longer in his way before redirecting his gaze to his actual target.

Aang stood and ran out from behind the fountain. There was no option but to move to the offensive. He saw as the man was about to attack and fended it off with his airbending before sending back a powerful tornado. Unfortunately, the man swiftly dodged it. He jumped down and shot another attack at Aang, who narrowly missed it. Aang jumped back behind the fountain with the rest of them.

Combustion Man landed nearby and led another strike. This time Ed pulled up earth in front of it, though it immediately crumbled from the impact. Then Katara bended the water from the fountain in a great wave. It turned to ice shards halfway through that she then bombarded the man with, but it seemed to make no impression on him. They merely shattered against his form.

Katara’s attack served as a great distraction, though, as Roy directed them all to hide behind a wall. They could not win some fights.

“That didn’t even scratch him,” Katara said.

“What is he? Made of metal?” Sokka huffed.

“Hey! What’s wrong with that?” Edward asked.

“Nothing... nothing... Just a huge advantage for the other team,” Sokka said.

“Hell yeah, it is,” Edward laughed.

They decided Combustion Man couldn’t see them when he began aiming randomly, causing the entire temple to tremor.

“He’s going to blast this whole place right off the cliff side!” Toph shouted.

Katara attempted to peak from behind the wall, but another explosion caused her to recoil.

“I can’t step out to waterbend at him without being blown up, and I can’t get a good enough angle on him from down here!”

They all looked at each other, urging a plan to come on.

“I know how to get an angle on him!” Sokka perked up.

He took out his boomerang. He waited for the next explosion to come, then peaked out from where Katara previously was. He quickly peeled back in as another blast shook the ground beside him. He took his boomerang and looked as though he was projecting the literal angle of where the man stood.

“Alright buddy, don’t fail me now!” He said before throwing the boomerang.

They stayed in anticipating silence as Sokka peaked out again. Then he was running out and catching his weapon in a blaze of glory.

“Yeah, boomerang!” He exclaimed proudly.

The rest of the group ran out with him and celebrated the genius of the move. Then, Combustion Man stood again.

“Aw, boomerang,” Sokka whined.

“What can we do to make him stay down?” Roy asked as they all ran back behind the wall.

They waited once more, as they heard the crackling of what could only be compared to firecrackers, but saw no outbreaks resulting from it. Then a deafening noise. They ran out to see fire devour the entire building Combustion Man had been standing on, then break apart. They watched in awed silence as the building broke away completely from the temple and fell down the enormous expanse of space.

They turned as they heard footsteps approaching from behind them. Zuko. So he survived.

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but thanks, Zuko,” Aang said.

Sokka looked floored.

“Hey, what about me? I did the boomerang thing!” He said.

“Not to side with Sokka, but Zuko didn’t actually do much except hire the guy,” Edward said.

Aside from an amused snort from Toph, the rest seemed to ignore them.

“Listen,” Zuko said, “I know I didn’t explain myself very well yesterday. I’ve been through a lot in the last few years, and it’s been hard. But I’m realizing that I had to go through all those things to learn the truth. I thought I had lost my honor, and that somehow my father could return it to me. But I know now that no one can give you your honor. It’s something you earn for yourself, by choosing to do what’s right. All I want to do now is play my part in ending this war, and I know my destiny is to help you restore balance to the world.”

He then turned to Toph, and bowed, “I’m sorry for what I did to you. It was an accident. Fire can be dangerous and wild, so as a firebender, I need to be more careful and control my bending, so I don’t hurt people unintentionally.”

Roy looked at Zuko intently. That struck a chord.

“Aang, I understand you likely still have your reservations. Though, his words are in exact accordance with what you said to me when we first started our training. I’m now of the belief that Toph and Edward are correct in saying you would benefit from having two firebending teachers, and that perhaps you are being a tad narrow minded,” Roy said.

“And?” Edward asked.

“And…” Roy glowered, “silly.”

“There it is,” Edward snickered.

“Thank you!” Toph threw her arms up. “No one’s ever on my side around here.”

Aang looked between everyone. He noted that the only concerned looks were from Katara and Sokka. Perhaps he was being narrow minded. Roy was right in saying Zuko’s words were in line with what he believed about firebending.

“I think you are supposed to be my firebending teacher. When I first tried to learn firebending, I burned Katara, and after that, I never wanted to firebend again. But now I know you, like Sifu Roy, understand how easy it is to hurt the people you love. I would like you to assist Sifu Roy in teaching me,” Aang then bowed to Zuko.

Zuko bowed back, “Thank you. I’m so happy you’ve accepted me into your group.”

“Not so fast,” Aang held a finger up to Zuko, “I still have to ask my friends if it’s okay with them. Toph, you’re the one that Zuko burned. What do you think?”

“Go ahead and let him join,” she playfully punched her fist into her palm, “It’ll give me plenty of time to get back at him for burning my feet.”

“Sokka?”

He shrugged, “Hey, all I want is to defeat the Fire Lord. If you think this is the way to do it, then I’m all for it.”

Aang noded, “Katara?”

She glared at Zuko until he looked away, “I’ll go along with whatever you think is right.”

He turned to Ed and Roy, “What about you two?”

“I’ve been pretty transparent, I think we should let him join but not let him cross us,” Edward said.

“Agreed,” Roy said.

They all looked at Zuko, who walked hurriedly over to them.

“I won’t let you down, I promise!” He said.

“Hm,” Roy hummed at him as he turned back to the rest of his friends. They all exchanged a look before Sokka scooped Toph up and collectively walked away.

-

Later, when Roy and Aang were practicing, Toph couldn’t walk, rage consumed Katara and Ed had gone off somewhere with the rest of them, Sokka realized it was his responsibility to show Zuko to his room. He sighed to himself and beckoned him down to the area they were inhabiting.

“So, here you go. Home sweet home... I guess. You know, for now. Unpack… Lunch soon? Uh, welcome aboard?” He rambled.

Zuko looked back and gave him a small smile, which was a bit too weird for Sokka to handle.

“Yeah,” he said as he backed out of the room, where he bumped into Aang. “Okay, this is really, really weird.”

Roy had been walking with Aang, as they’d just finished training. He hung back as the other two proceeded forward, discussing how odd it was that Zuko was on their side. He peaked in on Zuko, who seemed to be in a different world entirely. Then, he noticed Katara exiting her room, fuming, and quickly ducked behind a column, hoping he didn’t see her.

When Katara was that angry, nobody was safe.

He watched silently as Katara leaned in the doorway of Zuko’s room and just stared for a minute. Her voice carried out into the hall, where Roy listened from behind the column.

“You might have everyone else here buying you ‘transformation’, but you and I both know you’ve struggled with doing the right thing in the past.” She then went into the room, “So let me tell you something, right now. You make one step backward, one slipup, give me one reason to think you might hurt Aang, and you won’t have to worry about your destiny anymore. Because I’ll make sure your destiny ends, right then and there. Permanently.”

She slammed the door shut on her way out, then hurried furiously back to her own room, where she slammed that door too.

Roy moved from behind the column, and hesitated outside Zuko’s door, not sure whether to touch on anything Katara said or to let her words marinate. Frankly, he couldn’t have said it better. A voice came from the end of the hall before he could decide.

“Roy!” Ed ran to him, “What are you doing?”

“Just walking,” Roy said.

Ed looked between him and the door, raised an eyebrow, then dropped the subject. He laced his fingers with Roy’s and held their hands up between them.

“Cool, I’ll join you,” he smiled.

“Cool,” Roy repeated.

He then led them down the hall. They both watched the architecture, admiring the intricate details carved into the stone walls and columns, appreciating the fact that few outsiders had been there. They pondered the lives that at one time frequented those very halls.

Roy unlatched their fingers in favor of holding Ed around his waist, “So, what have you guys been up to?”

“Well, Haru and Teo both had some very exciting things to show me around the temple. I have to imagine they would be more fun if I could airbend, though,” Ed laughed. “What were you doing back there?”

“Well,” Roy decided they were far enough away, “To put it simply, watching Katara threaten Zuko.”

“Oh,” Ed paused, “Good.”

“Yeah, basically,” Roy agreed.

“Wanna go explore the cliff side? Perks of being an earthbender is I can create footholds,” Ed asked.

“Absolutely. Lead the way.”


	2. Inbetweener 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roy takes a walk with Zuko

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey so i decided to age the characters up for this story but their gaps remain the same. ages are as follows;  
> Roy- 35  
> Edward - 21  
> Zuko - 19  
> Sokka - 17  
> Katara - 16  
> Aang & Toph - 14

When they met for lunch, the group was very much divided. Aang sat with Katara and Sokka. Teo sat with The Duke and Haru. Toph sat with Ed and Roy. Then, Zuko sat alone. It felt all very middle school to Edward so he stood with his food and moved to sit with Zuko. He was part of the team, after all, wasn’t he?

It was also nice because in all of Zuko’s broodiness he’d chosen to sulk alone in the shade, which was a nice transition from sitting in the hot sun. The heat in the West was unlike where he was from. It was always very humid as opposed to the dry heat he grew up with. He found that sometimes it was hard to breathe with how wet the air was.

Zuko looked up from his cup of tea and acknowledged Ed’s presence.

“Hello,” he said.

“Hello, Zuko,” Ed said.

There was a moment of awkward silence before Roy and Toph joined them too. Roy, of course, helped her hobble over like the gentleman he was. They sat and the only sound for a brief time was Edward and Toph eating.

Roy silently wondered if all earthbenders were the same or if it was just their luck to befriend two extremely similar outliers. He supposed this clumping and generalization of people was a lot of what got the Fire Nation in trouble to begin with so he instead focused his attention on Edward. He was eating with his bowl close to his face, staring between him, Toph and Zuko. When he noticed Edward’s bowl was empty, he offered him what was left in his.

“But, you need to eat, too,” Ed said.

“Yes, but you missed breakfast and I did not. So, please, take it,” Roy said.

Edward hesitantly took the bowl, and only began on it when Roy smiled, assuring he was happy to make the sacrifice.

“So, Zuko,” Roy said. “Finally realized your dad’s a dick, huh?”

Edward and Toph nearly spit their food out, and Zuko visibly choked on his tea.

“Roy, you can’t just say that!” Edward said.

Roy made a face suggesting, ‘why not?’, and Zuko held his hand up to Edward.

“No, it’s okay. Yeah, uh, to put it simply,” Zuko said. Then he squinted as he looked closer at Roy. “You look familiar.”

“Yeah, I was waiting for that,” Roy sighed.

Edward and Toph stared into their bowls awkwardly. They knew what would likely be coming and didn’t much care for it.

“We can take a walk later and talk about it, if you’d like. Privacy is probably best,” Roy suggested.

Zuko took a moment to wonder if Roy planned on getting him alone to murder him, then hide his body out in the woods above the Air Temple so no one would ever find his remains. Then he wondered how long it would take for someone to notice he wasn’t around anymore. Then he wondered if anyone would realize at all.

“Yeah, that sounds alright,” Zuko said uneasily.

They all looked up as Aang, Katara and Sokka laughed loudly. When Katara noticed them looking she shot Zuko a look that could kill.

“Wow, I would not want to be on the receiving end of that,” Edward said.

“Your face looks like that seventy percent of the time,” Roy said.

“Well, I’m still not on the receiving end, am I?” Edward yelled at her.

Before they could commit to bickering, Roy spoke loudly. “So, she really doesn’t like you, huh?”

“Uh, no, I guess not,” Zuko said.

“Did you dump her or something?” Edward asked.

“I picked up on that energy, too!” Toph high fived him.

“Well, great minds think alike!” Ed smiled at her.

“No!” Zuko snapped. “It was never like that. Why do people keep saying that?”

“Hm, I wonder,” Ed said.

“If so many people think so, maybe the problem isn’t with them,” Toph said.

“Okay, you two, lay off,” Roy said. “Instead let’s talk about that really nasty threat she threw your way earlier.”

Edward laughed to himself, because Roy always thought he was doing a service by changing the topic but he always changed it to one of the same level of awkwardness or worse. Zuko’s face showed every inch of discomfort he felt. Which was good, Edward thought, because someone that transparent probably didn’t have a lot to hide.

“You heard that, huh?” Zuko asked.

“Every word,” Roy said. “And I would firstly like to second it, but then would like to advise you that she’s more bark than she is bite.”

Zuko looked sullen as he cocked his head. Roy gestured with his hands in a way that urged him to quickly understand what he was saying.

“As in, she’ll say big words, but I doubt she could follow through,” Roy explained.

“Don’t feel too safe, because while we don’t like killing I am not opposed to kicking your ass if you do anything to earn it,” Edward said.

“I would firstly like to second that, then I would like to remind you that you burned my feet,” Toph said, mocking Roy.

Zuko squared up his shoulders, “Well, you guys won’t ever have to worry about that, because I’m serious about this!”

“Good!” Roy said, looking at Edward, “You done with that?”

Edward nodded and handed his bowls to Roy, “Thank you.”

“Of course,” Roy smiled.

He stood and began taking his bowls back to where the bulk of the group clumped up.

“Oh, and I’ll be back to collect you for our talk momentarily,” he called to Zuko.

“In that case I’m going to go over there, too, before you guys go,” Ed stood. “Good chat, kid!”

Zuko watched them go, and as Ed wrapped himself around Roy’s arm as he seemed to start a dialogue with Sokka.

“You guys are really close around here, aren’t you?” Zuko asked, as he turned to Toph.

“Yeah, we’re like family. Only we chose each other, so it’s better, you know?”

“I can’t say that I do,” Zuko sighed. “Those two are new. Who are they?”

“Edward is the short, annoying one, and the tall annoying one is named Roy,” she answered. “We met them just after that one time your really annoying sister chased us through the earth kingdom. Sokka got stuck in a hole, was mocked by a friendly stranger refusing to help, all that.”

“Uh, yeah,” Zuko agreed just to be polite.

“Well, once they admitted Roy was a firebender, Aang had a teacher. Then, we quickly learned that Aang responded well to having two teachers in the way of earthbending, because if one of us couldn’t get something across to him, the other could. Plus there was that extra challenge, which helped, too. Hopefully that’ll be the same with you and Roy!”

“Well, I’m not so sure Roy and I will be as similar as you and Edward,” Zuko said.

“You take that back!” Toph shouted, “First you burn me literally then you burn me figuratively?”

“Now, now, Toph,” Roy scolded playfully, “There are much worse things to be like than Edward.”

“Yeah, says you,” she said.

“Zuko, I’ve come to join you for our walk now. Are you ready?” Roy asked.

“Yeah,” Zuko said standing.

“Excellent,” Roy said.

He began leading the way, away from the rest of the group and off of the temple. Edward created a ramp from the temple to the earth above, so the rest of the group could come and go as they pleased without the assistance of Appa. Once they were out of earshot they began to speak.

“So, you’re a firebender,” Zuko started. “I assume a master if you consider yourself good enough to teach the Avatar.”

“Yes, you’re correct. Though, I would have considered myself good enough as anything above the level of an absolute beginner. Seeing as Aang knew nothing of firebending and anything is better than nothing with what he has to accomplish.”

“But that’s impossible. The only master to ever escape the fire nation and live is Admiral Jeong Jeong,” Zuko said.

“That’s good trivia but it’s also incorrect,” Roy glanced at him. “There is no element better than fire to fake a death.”

Zuko’s eyes widened and his steps faltered, “You faked your own death?”

“Indeed I did, and I am not the only one,” Roy said, “I guarantee you that you have crossed paths with more than one abandoner.”

“So, you were part of the army?”

“Yes, I was a General.”

Zuko felt like his head was spinning. There was no way all of that nonsense went over his father’s head, nothing ever did. He refused to believe it! Roy ceased walking and turned towards Zuko.

“What’s more, I was there on the day you performed your act of “complete disrespect” in the Fire Lord’s war room,” he stared Zuko in the eye. “As well as the day your dear father gifted you that scar.”

“There’s no way,” Zuko gasped.

“Oh, Prince Zuko, unfortunately there is,” Roy continued walking. “That being said I never disagreed with you. Quite the contrary, in fact.”

“Why did you desert the military?” Zuko asked.

“Watching someone use firebending the way your father did, on a child- No, on his own child, in a formal duel, for something so trivial? It made me realize how hateful the Fire Nation is. A nation is no better than their leader and your father...Well, your father is no leader at all. He is a coward hiding behind his army and I would not be a part of it for any longer.”

“You figured it all out so quickly. It took me so long to see my father and my nation for what it is,” Zuko said.

“I hate to keep disagreeing with you, but you’re still wrong. I served many years in the military, working my way up. I believed in it. You were just a child. And he is your father. Many people unfortunately take advantage of their parental positions. You were manipulated and that was not your fault.”

“But I’ve done so much wrong.”

“That may be true, Zuko, but you are still young. If you really are serious about what you’re doing here and this actually isn’t an elaborate ruse, then I would say you’re doing just fine. I am sure your atrocities cannot possibly measure up to what I have commanded my troops to do, and in such, have done myself.” Roy sighed, “I am the last person to judge someone’s past.”

“You...you remind me a lot of my uncle,” Zuko said.

He felt a twang in his chest thinking about his uncle. He did not deserve the words coming from Roy. It seemed as though Uncle Iroh’s words were being fed through a voice filter named Roy. It was too much.

“Your uncle is a good man, I respect him a great deal.”

“I do, too,” Zuko smiled.

Roy stopped and planted a firm hand on Zuko’s shoulder. Zuko met his eyes steadily. They were atop a short hill and the wind flew around their skin and gently shook the trees around them.

“He would be proud of what you are doing now. This is the cause to fight for. Do not turn your back on it.”

“I won’t.”

“Good, because while the others are somewhat pacifists, I am not. As I explained, I have carried out a great deal of atrocities and I will not hesitate to keep our path to victory unhindered. I have too much on the line. Am I understood?”

“Yes, I understand. I gave up everything to be here and do this. I am with you,” Zuko met Roy’s threat with grace.

“Perfect, you can ask any questions you have on the way back,” Roy said.

They spent the first part of their trek back in silence. Zuko was unsure what else to ask. He wasn’t sure if there were any lines he couldn’t cross. He felt he resonated deeply with Roy’s story. Sure, he didn’t fake his death, but he was dead as far as his nation was concerned. He left a life behind, too. It felt like looking into his future.

“Didn’t you have a family you left behind when you faked your death?”

“No.”

“Do the others know about your past?”

“Yes.”

“Do you miss your old life?”

“Not even a little bit. I have found peace and a new purpose where I am now.”

“What about family? Toph compared their little gang to family, only it’s one they’ve chosen.”

“That is a good way of saying it. Though, I cannot say the rest of them are my family. Sure, they can feel like it, and I care about them deeply. My only true family is Edward.”

“Oh, is he your nephew or something?”

Roy looked at him sideways, “No.”

Zuko chose to stay quiet after that. He ran out of questions to ask and Roy seemed to have run out of answers. He didn’t want to bring up the fact that Roy had to be considerably older than them all. There was a reason he was there and any help at all was something they needed.

“Maybe when we get back we can start our dual training of Aang. I will catch you up on what we’ve been working on,” Roy said.

“Yeah, that sounds good,” Zuko agreed.

“Then we can figure out which one of us is the good guy and which is the bad guy,” Roy jested.

“Oh, I’ll definitely be the good guy,” Zuko laughed.

“We’ll see, then,” Roy shook his hand in the spirit of good competition.


End file.
